Pre-Spring Break Update

First, a HUGE thanks to everyone that helped plan the protest on Saturday--it turned out really well, and I think we showed the community that WashU is active and willing to put effort into things outside our often-cited bubble. It was amazing to see all of you allies and newcomers attend the protest; I hope you come to more events in coming semesters, too. Check out the two articles in Student Life for pictures and details: Protest at 'ex-gay' conference brings out students, community - News and Love Needs No Cure: A peaceful protest - News. Pride is taking a brief hiatus for the next few weeks, but we will be back in full force the week following spring break. In the meantime, here are a few items that might be of interest to you:

1.) This Saturday, March 4th at 2:30 pm at Hillel (across the street from the architecture school, which is near Brookings), Keshet, the GLBTQ Jewish group, is bringing transgender, queer, and Jewish performance artist and playwright S. Bear Bergman in to perform "Clearly Marked", a play about overlapping identities and blurring labels. Following the show, there will be a Q&A discussion with Bear. Admission is FREE! If you missed "Clearly Marked" when it came to St. Louis last school year, here's another chance for you to catch it. Don't miss it! You can learn more about the show "Clearly Marked" here: http://www.sbearbergman.com/theater/clearlymarked.html

2.) Office hours have begun! Stop by Women's Building 300 during the day to chat with exec members, hang out, do homework, or borrow items from our qLibrary. We hope to have a complete online list of all of our library items in the near future. Office hours are as follows:

• Monday: 12:00 - 5:00PM
• Tuesday: 2:30 - 3:30PM
• Wednesday: 11:00 - 1:00PM; 2:00 - 5:00PM
• Thursday: 2:30 - 3:30PM
• Friday: 12:00 - 1:00PM
  

3.) If you think we have been doing a good job this semester, nominate us (or any other fine organization on campus, for that matter) for OSA's Excellence in Leadership Awards! Nomination forms can be found here: http://osa.wustl.edu/leadership/awards/. Not that I'm begging, or anything....

Ex-Gay Protest and Teach-In: "Love Needs No Cure"

Pride Alliance, Safe Zones, and Keshet, as part of a huge, city-wide effort, plan to hold a peaceful demonstration outside of the ex-gay Love Won Out (www.lovewonout.com) conference this Saturday. Our purpose is to offer a message of truth, love, and acceptance for LGBT families and those struggling with their sexual orientation. We will have placards, posters, ribbons, armbands, and resource info available on site. Transportation to the church site will be provided on February 25th at the South 40 clocktower at two separate times: 6:15 AM and 3:45PM. The early shift is for the arrival of the conference attendees and will be car-pool only (so if you have a car and want to drive, please respond to this e-mail). The later shift will cover the end of the conference as attendees leave, and we will provide buses. The event is officially over at 5:30PM, so expect to be back no later than 6:30PM. Prior to the departure of the second shift we will be holding a Teach-in in Ursa's Fireside at 3:00PM. The Teach-in will feature guest speakers and a panel discussion about the harmful effects of the ex-gay movement. I Sincerely hope that you will join us (and the hundreds of St. Louis citizens that have been planning this event) for the event on Saturday. If you have any questions, please feel free e-mail pridewu@gmail.com or drop by Women's Building 300 during office hours.

Ex-Gays in St. Louis

On Saturday, February 25th Exodus International is holding a conference in St. Louis at the First Evangelical Free Church (perhaps you have seen the huge billboards on I-64 and 70?). Exodus promotes the "curing" and treatment of homosexuality as a mental illness, which all national psychiatric and medical organizations (and most people who have ever known any GLB people) consider complete BS. Pride Alliance, Keshet, and Safe Zones are hosting a meeting on Thursday, February 16th @ 8:30PM in Women's Building 300 (that's this Thursday!) to discuss a possible protest. We encourage you to forward this e-mail to any group or person that might be interested. If you really want to get your blood boiling, check out the Exodus website, or the website for the sickeningly named Love Won Out conference. I hope to see you at the meeting.

Note: the open exec meeting scheduled for this Thursday has been cancelled due to this event.

Latexmania

This Wednesday Pride Alliance and S.H.A.C. are hosting a Safer Sex event as part of Sex Week 2006. Individuals from the St. Louis Guardian Project (http://www.guardianproject.org/ ) and Project ARK (http://projectark.wustl.edu/) will be giving a presentation on safer sex in the GLB community (with a focus on male-male sex) that includes a rousing game of Safer Sex Jeopardy (could you ask for anything more?). We will have lots of free condoms and accessories available, as well as discreet, confidential HIV tests immediately after the event. The meeting well be on Wednesday, February 15th at 8PM in Women's Building 300. Be sure to come!

Other Items of Interest:
1) The Social Justice Center is holding an event on Monday, February 13th from 7-9pm in Ursa's Fireside, entitled "Tokenism and 'Diversity': The Easy Way Out." Professor Shawn Shimpach will be facilitating a discussion. There will also be free food representing different groups of people, in a tokenistic fashion. Prof. Shimpach taught the course "Freshman Seminar: Race and Ethnicity on American Television" and he will be using his expertise and material from this course to convey tokenism in the media. The discussion will touch on the larger issue of tokenism in hiring, recruiting, political appointment, public relations campaigns, etc.

2) The next Gayla Committee Meeting is Monday, February 20th at 9PM in the lower level seminar room of Eliot House on the South 40. We are still hammering out a lot of important details, and we could use all the help we can get!

3) Open Exec Meetings are starting this week! Stop by our exec meetings at 8:15PM every Thursday in the lower level seminar room of Eliot House on the South 40 to offer ideas of your own and take part in the decision-making process. We hope to see some new faces this semester!

Gays on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Okay. I should really stop it with the crazy titles, but they are just so much fun (I spared you last week, though--our wily treasurer really wanted to call the event "Gaym Night"). The full title of the event we have planned this week is "Gays on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown: Mental Health Issues and the GLB Community". Dr. Alan Glass, Director of Student Health and Counseling Services, will host this discussion on Tuesday, February 7th at 8PM in the NEW Student Health and Counseling Center Center on the South 40. Don't go to the old one next to Malinckrodt! The new facility is located in the basement of Forsyth House, which is accessible from Shepley Drive. Forsyth House is the very first dorm on the left when entering the 40 via Shepley Drive. Once you enter the basement it will not be hard to find us in the classroom located right off of the main lobby. Issues of mental health are rarely discussed in the specific context of gay, lesbian, and bisexual college students, so we hope that the dialogue can raise awareness about these topics and offer WashU students a valuable resource. We have worked with Dr. Glass many times in the past, and his presentations are always interactive and highly informative. If you have any questions about this event or Pride Alliance in general, please e-mail us at this address. I hope to see you on Tuesday!

Fun With Pride Alliance!

Welcome back!

I hope everyone had a relaxing break doing absolutely nothing (other than eating and sleeping). I certainly did. Alas, the school year has begun and we must become un-lazy and attend all Pride Alliance events for the entire semester. I'm not kidding. Here's what's coming up:

1) Gayla Committee Meeting: Wednesday, January 25th at 7:30PM in Women's Building 300. We have divided into sub-committees and are working on setting our wonderfully gay theme (which is top secret) into motion. The tentative date for this GLBTQIA "Formal" is April 1st, so mark your calenders.

2) Activities Fair: Thursday, January 26th from 4-6PM in the Gargoyle. We are giving away skittles by the bucket load, so at least drop by to rot your teeth (and maybe check out some of our plans for the year and contribute your own ideas).

3) Game Night: Tuesday, January 31st at 8PM in Women's Building 300. Join your fellow GLBTQIA-ers for an evening of, well, GLBTQIA-themed games and leftover skittles. What joy! Bring a friend and we will throw in an extra bag of candy. I swear it will be fun.

Those are the most immediate events we have planned. An event focusing on Mental Health hosted by Student Health and Counseling will be coming up soon. Also--just in time for a Valentine's Day tryst!--a safer sex night is in the works for the week after. Once we have the kinks in our own schedules worked out, we will publish a list of office hours so that you all can visit us during the school day.

World AIDS Week Speaker on Friday

Several Student Groups at WashU, including Pride Alliance, have contributed to bringing in Joel Goldman to speak to cap off World AIDS Week. The event will be on Friday, December 2nd at 5PM in LabSci 300 . Joel is currently living with HIV because he mixed sex with alcohol following his graduation from college. His program is part alcohol awareness, part sexual health. Joel has spoken to over a million students since 1993, earning top national honors from the Association of Fraternity Advisers and the North American Interfraternity Conference. In October 1998, he received the Ryan White Foundation's top national award for serving to the nations youth. The program Joel presents is interactive, and he uses humor and personal stories to get his message across. We hope all of you can make it!

Transgender Awareness Week

Transgender Awareness Week is next week, Nov. 14-18. We will be tabling Monday through Friday from 11AM to 1PM, so drop by if you need more information about the events, want a button or two, or want to help out. Here is what we have planned:

Transgender Panel Discussion: Tuesday, Nov. 15th @ 8PM in Lambert Lounge. Join Pride Alliance, Dr. Alan Glass (director of Student Health and Counseling Services), and several guests from the St. Louis community for a panel discussion on transgender issues. Become educated on transgender topics and listen to stories from people in the community. There will be a question and answer session following the discussion. Lambert Lounge is located in Malinckrodt Center on main campus. It is upstairs, past the bank (there will be signs).

Transgender Day of Remembrance Candlelight Vigil: Wednesday, Nov. 16th @ 8PM at the South 40 Clocktower. Mourn the deaths of the dozens of transgender people murdered this past year. Hear the stories of people who were killed and help raise awareness violence against those with differing gender identities or expressions. Several St. Louis religious leaders will be present to speak, but the event is not inherently religious. Following the meeting at the clocktower we will process to the Swamp, and then into Friedman Lounge in Wohl Center where our guests will speak.

Showing of Southern Comfort: Thursday, Nov. 17th @ 8PM in Friedman Lounge (Wohl Center). Come see this award winning, powerful documentary on the life and death of a trans man dying of ovarian cancer in the deep south. For reviews and more information about the film, see this link.

Transworks: Transsexual Images by Loren Cameron: Friday, Nov. 18th @ 6PM at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum (Steinberg Auditorium). Loren Cameron's photographs have become beautiful icons of a burgeoning transgender movement. His book,"Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits" (1996) has been regarded as groundbreaking. In his presentation he will show some of his newest and latest work, relate his experience as a transsexual photographer as well as discuss the lives of the people he photographs. The presentation will be followed by a book-signing. Don't miss this rare opportunity to see this renowned photographer present his work!

Quick Update

Jewish SafeZones Workshop @ 7PM in the Danforth Seminar Room on Tuesday, Nov. 8th. Everyone is welcome! Come learn about how Judaism and GLBTQIA mix. If you have any questions, contact Stacy with SafeZones at seread@artsci.wustl.edu.

Gayla Committee Meeting @ 7:30PM in Women's Building Suite 300 on Wednesday, Nov. 8th. If you haven't signed up for the committee, but still want to get involved, just stop by! We have about 10 people already on board, but more are certainly welcome.

Transgender Awareness Week, Nov. 14th-18th. We have four events planned for the week, including a panel discussion, the Transgender Day of Remembrance Candlelight Vigil, a showing of Southern Comfort , and--of course--our speaker of the semester, Trans photographer Loren Cameron on Friday, Nov. 18th. Once specifics are set in stone I will send out a seperate e-mail. If you are interested in getting involved in any of these projects, respond to this e-mail.

Midterm General Body Meeting

It's about half-way through the semester, so there will be a general body meeting @ 8PM Tuesday Nov. 1st in Women's Building Suite 300. Help us with the rest of this year's events, brainstorm plans for next semester, think of ideas for guest speakers, voice your comments and concerns, or just hang out and eat our left-over s'mores. This is your time to speak up, so be sure to drop by, even if just for a few minutes.

Come Out!

I'd like to thank everyone for the GREAT turnout at GLBTQIA Awareness Week events this year--it's the best this campus has ever had! We aren't done yet, though. There are many (seriously--many) events planned for the semester, some of which will presently be presented to you in convenient list format:

Wednesday, Oct. 19th @ 9:15PM on the S40 Swamp: "Come Out To The Sukkah" with Pride Alliance and Keshet, WashU's Jewish GLBTQIA student group. Free dessert and hot chocolate will be provided as you do arts & crafts, mingle, pick up buttons and ribbons, and--of course--have tons of fun!

Wednesday, Oct. 26th: "National Intersex Awareness Day". Details are still pending, but there will be an event that evening at 8PM in Women's Building Suite 300 relating to that mysterious "I" in the GLBTQIA alphabet soup. Expect a showing of a short film/documentary followed by a facilitated discussion.

Friday, Nov. 18th @ 6PM in the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum (Steinberg Auditorium): "Transworks: Transsexual Images by Loren Cameron". Loren Cameron's photographs have become beautiful icons of a burgeoning transgender movement. His book, Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits (1996), has been regarded as groundbreaking. In his presentation he will show some of his newest and latest work, relate his experience as a transsexual photographer, and discuss the lives of the people he photographs. The presentation will be followed by a book-signing. See http://www.lorencameron.com/ for more information.

TBA: Gayla Committee Meeting. Help organize WashU's 2nd annual GLBTQIA formal! Last year over 200 people attended, and it was a smashing success. The event will not be until late next semester (April-ish), but we must start organizing things immediately. I will lead the first meeting, but the Gayla will not be an event run by Pride Alliance--we want people from all over the WashU community. If you are interested in being on the planning committee e-mail pride@restech.wustl.edu ASAP so that we can organize a meeting time within the next few weeks. I am looking for approximately 10-12 individuals, especially people who helped out last year! Time commitment: expect to meet once or twice a month until the event.

WashU Political Review is looking for people to submit articles or essays regarding GLBTQIA issues. If you are interested in submitting something or have an idea for an article e-nail pride@restech.wustl.edu

GLBTQIA Awareness Week 2005

Yay for Awareness Week!

We are tabling ALL week in Malinckrodt from 11AM-1PM to sell shirts, sign petitions, handout resource materials, and give away free buttons and ribbons. As a sign of solidarity, we ask that everyone wear a rainbow ribbon or button throughout the week. Tell your friends about our events and please try to come out and show support. I hope to see everyone at some point this week!

Saturday, Oct. 8th @ 12:30PM: "Mom, Dad, I'm Still the Same" in Women's Building, Suite 300

Come join Pride Alliance and PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians & Gays) for a Parent's Weekend discussion and question/answer session about GLBT life on campus, being a parent of a GLBT student, and how to come out to your parents as G,L,B, or T. All members of the family are welcome!

Monday, Oct. 10th @ 7PM "Guerrilla Flyering: A Night of Noise" in Women's Building, Suite 300

Basically, we want every single bulletin board on campus to have an awareness-related flyer on it. To do this, we need your help. Like, a lot. Pretty please. There will be socializing and FREE PIZZA AND SODA beforehand (it's in caps so as to entice you). Please try to bring your own stapler, but if you don't have one, we will have a few extras.

Tuesday, Oct. 11th @ 8PM "CampOUT" in Women's Building, Suite 300

Come eat S'mores, share coming out stories around the campfire (well, actually the, uh, votive candle), or just sit back and listen. Allies are especially encouraged to come. It's sure to be a grand time! Really!

Wednesday, Oct. 12th @ 6PM "Panel Discussion at SLU" in room 254 of the SLU Busch Student Center

Our friends at SLU's Rainbow Alliance are hosting a panel discussion about GLBT issues on their campus. Panel members include various members from the St. Louis GLBTQA community and a wide range of topics will be covered that directly pertain to the St. Louis GLBTQA community.
Friday, Oct. 14th @ 8PM "Outing to St. Louis City Museum" at the clock tower on the South 40

Come explore this amazing St. Louis asset with us for half the price (tickets will be only $5)! PLEASE RSVP IF YOU WANT TO COME. We won't be gone for the whole evening (probably until 10:30 or 11PM), so all of you party animals can still go out. Visit http://www.citymuseum.org/ for more information and pictures of this enormous playground for adults.

Sunday, Oct. 16th @ 5:30PM "Showing of The Laramie Project " in Friedman Lounge (Wohl Center on the S40)

Remember Mathew Shepherd on the anniversary of his death at a showing of this powerful film about the reaction of Laramie, Wyoming to his brutal murder.

Office Hours!

Office hours for the Pride Suite, located in Women's Building Suite 300, are now available. Feel free to stop by to check out a book, study quietly in a non-crowded place, or ask officers any questions you need the answer to (we'll do our best!).

You might get lucky at other random times throughout the day, but these timeslots are guaranteed:

Monday: 10AM-12PM; 1:30-3PM
Tuesday: 10AM-1PM; 3:30-5PM
Wednesday: 10AM-12PM; 2:30-3:30PM
Thursday: 10AM-1PM; 3:30-5PM
Friday: 10AM-12PM; 12:30-2PM

We hope you drop by!

Gay and Israeli?

What's it like to be gay and Israeli? Come join Pride Alliance, Keshet, and WSI (Wash U Solidarity for Israel) in a conversation about the differences between being GLBT in America and Israel @ 8PM Monday, Sept. 26th in Ursa's Fireside. Clips from Trembling Before G_d and Yossi and Jagger will be shown to entice each and every one of you to come and be cool with us (and to facilitate conversation, but that's secondary, of course).

Got Pride?

And the year has officially begun! We wrote the constitution, you guys approved it, and now we are waiting for final administrative approval on the new Pride Alliance. Here are some upcoming events:

Come to Women’s Building Suite 300 on Tuesday September 20th @ 8PM to engage in discussion and activism centering on GLBT parenting issues. We are participating in a letter-writing campaign with PROMO (Personal Rights of Missourians) to defeat a bill in the Missouri congress that attacks GLBT parents. Representatives from PROMO and C.O.L.A.G.E (Children of Gays and Lesbians Everywhere) will be present if you have questions. Following the brief discussion we will be showing “The Birdcage” and having a jolly time.
On Thursday September 22nd @ 7PM the HRC, PROMO, and ACLU are hosting “Save the Date: LGBT Parenting Town Hall” at the Washington University School of Law, Room 204. We strongly encourage students to attend—let your voice be heard!

“Take Me Out” with the HRC on September 29th @ 7PM. Meet us at the Clock tower on the S40 on the 29th and come see the 2003 Tony Award Winner for Best Play with us! The HRC is subsidizing tickets, so we need to get them fast. If interested in seeing this provocative play about being gay in the big leagues, respond to this e-mail before the end of next week! We need to get a head count right away. Tickets are $35, which is an amazing deal for a Broadway play. We hope you can join us! (For more info about the play, visit www.repstl.org/offramp/or1/index.shtml ).

Awareness Week 2005 is Oct. 10-14th. Some big stuff is going to happen!

Sexual Orientation 2005

Sunday. 10 PM. Danforth Classroom. Free ice cream. Need I say more?

Probably.

Come join Spectrum Alliance for "Sexual Orientation 2005," WashU's only GLBTQA orientation event. It will be low-key, fun, and informative. Meet other incoming students (transfers welcome!) and various GLBTQA leaders on campus while enjoying rootbeer floats and other snacks. Also, we plan to introduce our proposal for Pride Alliance, the new group that will result from the fusion of Spectrum and OutRight. We hope all incoming students can join us!

FYI: the Danforth Classroom is located on the first floor of Danforth House, which is on the South 40. It will be easy to find, but discreet. Remember: your confidentiality is important to us.

NOTE: You may or may not be aware of the fact that the second showing of "The Date"--another orientation program--is scheduled right before Sexual Orientation 2005. There are discussion sessions afterwards, so the times may overlap. We have taken this into consideration and fully expect many students to come late. Don't be afraid to stop by whenever you get the chance on Sunday--we'll be waiting for you!